How chaos at 2003 NFL Draft led legendary OT Jordan Gross to Carolina Panthers
The Minnesota Vikings were on the clock with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. But their spot in the pecking order quickly evaporated, sending the night into a brief tailspin that gave future Carolina Panthers All-Pro left tackle Jordan Gross a weird welcome to the business of football moment that he will remember for the rest of his life.
Gross and his wife, Dana, watched the draft on ESPN from their home in Salt Lake City. The house was filled with family, Gross’s representatives and a few local TV cameras. And roughly five minutes of chaos led to one of the more notable draft picks in Charlotte sports history.
The Vikings didn’t turn their pick in on time, reportedly due to a failed trade attempt with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Jacksonville Jaguars essentially acquired the seventh pick without a trade and skipped Minnesota in line, selecting Marshall QB Byron Leftwich as fast as they could hand in the card. Carolina then followed suit, as the Vikings scrambled behind the scenes, and selected Gross immediately afterward.
Gross, who is officially listed as the No. 8 pick in the 2003 draft, was surprised that he was headed to Carolina. He had no clue the Panthers wanted him.
“Zero — the Panthers played it really sneakily,” Gross told The Observer last week. “They didn’t come to my pro day, I didn’t go visit Carolina, they didn’t bring anybody out to do an individual workout with me. I met with them briefly at the combine — I remember meeting (then-head coach) John Fox and we talked a little bit — I mean, it was super casual. The Panthers I feel like — they told me over the years after that — that I was their guy and they didn’t want anyone else thinking they were going to take me.
“When we got drafted, my wife and I Googled — or maybe we looked it up on a map back in ‘03, I can’t remember — ‘Where is Charlotte? OK, North Carolina.’ Never been there, didn’t know anybody there. I mean it was a wild time in our life.”
The NFL Draft is traditionally a chaotic exercise. It has major twists and turns throughout the seven rounds.
Gross’s situation with the pick sliding isn’t a common occurrence, but the mystery and intrigue of a potential surprise selection lingers heavily each year. And with the Panthers set to pick eighth overall for a fifth time in franchise history in next week’s draft, The Observer chatted with Gross to get his recollection of the experience.
A Carolina surprise for the history books
Gross knew he’d be selected in the first half of that year’s draft, but he wasn’t sure where he’d end up.
The Houston Texans, who owned the No. 3 pick, hosted Gross’s only visit of the draft process. The Jaguars, who were originally slated to pick eighth before Minnesota’s draft-night slide, traveled to Utah to work out the promising prospect, who was considered by many to be the top offensive tackle in the class.
But there was no sense of interest from the Panthers, so Gross didn’t do much research on the team that was originally slated to pick with the ninth selection.
“So, I thought that maybe the Texans might draft me — long shot — third,” Gross said. “They ended up going with Andre Johnson, which was a great pick for them. I thought that maybe the Cowboys at fifth (overall), but they took Terence Newman, the corner, which was a really good call. And so then, Jacksonville is in here, Carolina — that’s a no. The Ravens were like 10th or something.”
And then the wheels fell off the board.
As Minnesota appeared indifferent, at least publicly, to the selection order, Gross and his family sat in bewilderment. Not even Gross’s agent knew what was going on.
“We’re watching and (Minnesota) let the clock run out,” Gross said. “And none of us have any answers. I’m asking my agent, and they’re like, ‘Well, I think the Jaguars can pick now.’ And then, sure enough, the pick is in, it’s the Jaguars and everyone is freaking out.”
Jacksonville selected Leftwich instead of Gross, but the intrigue continued in the form of a buzz from Gross’s cell phone.
Panthers general manager Marty Hurney was on the other line, and he told Gross’s agent that Carolina was going to select the University of Utah left tackle. An unpredictable, yet favorable outcome for the Gross family.
Said Gross: “It was just an incredible, intense couple of minutes.”
Immediate return on investment
Gross went from not knowing where Charlotte was on a map to building his entire NFL life within the city.
Despite his lack of geographic wherewithal upon arrival, Gross immediately became engaged with the city and the organization, and he quickly delivered on his promise as an incoming eighth overall pick.
He was the starting right tackle on the Panthers’ Super Bowl XXXVIII team as a rookie. He then transitioned to left tackle in Year 2, where he stayed for the next decade, racking up Pro Bowl honors and earning his lone All-Pro nod in 2008.
“I felt a big burden of responsibility as soon as I got drafted, honestly,” Gross said. “Like, ‘Oh man, I’m an eighth pick, I’m a top-10 pick — I better perform.’ And a bit of a fear of failure, you know? Like I just had to do right by the organization, my family, my wife, for my school. Fairly burdened with just being who everybody believed I was. And I was proud to take that on, it turned out just fine, but definitely a big expectation when you’re picked high.”
Most onlookers would say that Gross’s career in Carolina was more than “fine.” He’s arguably the greatest offensive lineman in team history, with only former center Ryan Kalil possibly having an argument against him in that category.
Gross, a Nampa, Idaho, native, who played for Fruitland High School — where he now serves as the head football coach — and the Utah Utes prior to the Urban Meyer glory days, still can’t believe his career turned out the way it did, especially after how it all started with the 2003 draft.
Gross, who still feels honored that he holds the distinction of being the highest-drafted football player from Idaho, reflects on his football journey like it was improbable in retrospect.
“I think that every day that goes by, I realize how unlikely that whole deal was,” Gross said. “Whether it was coming out of a small, rural town in Idaho to get to Utah, when there was such less access to recruiting and film and that stuff. And then at Utah, to have a great individual (offensive line) coach in Alex Gerke, and I stayed healthy and got to play and excel. And then to get drafted that high and stay in Carolina and have a relatively healthy career.
“Just like, what are the odds? It’s one in a whatever. It’s just crazy. And also, not understanding it as I live it, you’re playing for over a decade in a place — like how gigantic of an opportunity that whole thing is, and how it’s going to keep paying dividends financially, but also just continued access to the Panthers organization and being able to bring my family there, and be welcomed with open arms because I’ve treated people well there and was treated great while I was there.”
Perspective for the Panthers’ 2025 first-round pick
Gross had an awkward draft-night experience, but his draft journey was largely on par with what the prospects in this year’s draft class have been through.
The workouts, visits and pro days are all finished, and now it’s time to wait for an opportunity. While Gross was aware of his status within the first round in 2003, his landing spot was largely up in the air. With the Panthers set to pick eighth again this year, their ultimate selection could feel a similar way.
It’s taken a lot for the prospects in this class to get to where they are: on the cusp of an NFL dream. Gross can relate, especially with hindsight and his current role as a coach.
“It’s kind of just surreal when you’re on the other end of it, and look back, especially now that I’m coaching high school, and I see how hard it is to find a body or a person that could be big enough, fast enough, strong enough, durable enough, smart enough, tough enough to be able to make it to college (football) and then all the down (to the NFL),” Gross said. “Very, very fortunate — very blessed. Definitely do not take it for granted that all that happened.”
Gross can look back on his NFL career with pride and gratitude. It’s over, but he still has the memories that helped shape him as a professional and an adult.
When asked if he had any advice for the next first-round pick in franchise history, Gross took a moment to think before acknowledging some advice he’d given teammates during their careers.
“You’re getting picked because of who you already are, right?” Gross said. “The film they’ve seen in college, the plays you make, your speed, how you play football — that’s who they’re picking. They’re not picking some unreasonable version of you.
“And what I mean by that is, you need to be comfortable knowing that they already love you, and all you need to be is who you’ve been. Sure, you want to get stronger, you want to get better as a football player, but no one is asking of you to come in and be something extraordinary right off the bat. So, I think that comfort of knowing that, ‘They already like the guy they’re drafting, I just need to be me when I get here.’”
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
